The Witcher and Collective Cheating

Chapter 130: The Witcher and Collective Cheating

Upon discovering the reason, Wade was practically itching to improve the other cabinet as well.

However, considering he had classes tomorrow, he had no choice but to dutifully return to his dormitory and sleep.

The first class in the morning was Transfiguration.

Transfiguration was a magic Wade could quickly master even without using his eyes.

Perhaps it was because he had been practicing Occlumency that Wade's mind was much clearer than his past self's. The images formed in his mind were more concrete and distinct, and his magical guidance was smooth and stable.

This allowed his Transfiguration to succeed within one or two attempts, even at the beginner stage.

Moreover, Lupin was an excellent Transfiguration teacher.

His three companions had all successfully become Animagi, and his own understanding and mastery of Transfiguration theory were enough to be called masterful.

Lupin's guidance to Wade was always easy to understand and hit the core principles, leading to rapid progress in Wade's Transfiguration studies.

It was also Lupin who judged that Wade's current level was already sufficient to begin preparing to become an Animagus.

First, he had to keep a fresh Mandrake leaf in his mouth for an entire month without swallowing or removing it.

This process was undoubtedly difficult, as people eat and drink every day; they also unconsciously chew and swallow in their sleep.

So, while it was said to be one month, it was not uncommon for this process to be repeated several or even more than ten times. Those who couldn't persevere naturally had to give up.

However, the Mandrake plants were currently only seedlings. Professor Sprout said that they would have to wait at least another month before the picked leaves could be used.

For now, all he could do was continue practicing and improving his Transfiguration.

Because Wade's learning progress far exceeded the course content, Professor McGonagall specially allowed him to practice independently during class. When she patrolled, she would come over to guide him a few times.

Transfiguration Class ended relatively early. Afterward, Wade went to the Astronomy Tower to continue studying Bio-Alchemy with Professor Murray.

As the tutoring was nearing its end, one of the chess pieces finally moved.

The White Knight circled the chessboard a few times, drew its long sword, and swung it back and forth, as if fighting an invisible enemy.

Then, it stood with both hands on its sword and said in a low voice, "Evil is evil, there is no big, medium, or small distinction!"

Professor Murray chuckled, "He seems like a character... What kind of thoughts did you give him?"

Upon hearing this, the White Knight suddenly raised its head.

"Based on your first impression of me, I don't like your attitude, but I will hear you out."

Wade said, "I read a short story in a magazine before, and the main character was a Witcher. I found it very interesting, so I gave him similar ideas."

"Interesting... Most people only tell a chess piece what it should do. Personalities are usually given unintentionally."

Professor Murray said, then asked the chess piece with interest, "Are you a knight with eight virtues?"

The White Knight was silent for a moment before seriously saying, "No, I am not a knight, but a Witcher!"

"A Witcher?" Professor Murray almost laughed. "Are you going to hunt demons and vampires?"

"Go ahead and mock me, I know how difficult it is for people to understand each other."

The White Knight said seriously, "Perhaps you'll find it hard to believe, but even where the sun shines brightest, there are shadows it can't reach."

"What if I told you to fight the chess piece opposite you?" Professor Murray asked.

The White Knight looked at the mindless black pieces, shook its head, and said, "I will not harm innocent people!"

"But you are a chess piece, this is your mission."

Professor Murray actually started arguing with it.

The White Knight disagreed, saying, "I don't accept the mission you're forcing on me. I know what I need to do... even if my path is destined to be solitary."

Seeing that Professor Murray was having a lot of fun, Wade simply left the chess piece there and departed after saying goodbye.

In the afternoon was Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

"Ryan and Harry said their Defense Against the Dark Arts class yesterday was a disaster," Michael said during lunch, relaying the news he'd heard from the Umbrella Room. "Professor Lockhart brought a cage of Cornish Pixies, messed up the classroom, and then ran away."

"Not just that," Padma chimed in. "Several people were bitten or scratched, and Madam Pomfrey was furious."

Lisa said incredulously, "I heard they even took a quiz before class! It was all about Lockhart's favorite color, Lockhart's achievements, and stuff like that."

Anthony Goldstein quietly gathered the second-year Ravenclaw students into a small room behind the Great Hall, then handed each of them a slip of paper.

He said, "Honestly, I think the questions Professor Lockhart asked are pointless, and there's no need to read books for them."

"These are the questions and answers I managed to get. All of you take a look beforehand, and just deal with it in class."

"Oh, and don't take out any cheat sheets during the exam. After all, he's a professor, he might have some way of detecting cheating."

"Got it," Terry said, unfolding the paper and looking at it. "I really don't want to flatter him this way."

"It's still necessary to make a good first impression," Anthony advised him. "After all, he's a professor, and sometimes we need to get signed permissions from him. Plus, if your grades are too bad, he might give you detention."

Terry fell silent.

A group of students looked at the slips of paper, muttering to themselves and quickly memorizing the answers.

While Ravenclaw students weren't quite blessed with eidetic memories, few of them had poor recall.

Some students would skim the answers once, remember most of them, and then put down their notes, not aiming for a perfect score anyway.

Others — especially most of the girls — would read them over two or three times.

Wade was also silently memorizing the answers.

He wasn't interested in Lockhart, but he knew that getting a permit for the Restricted Section from him would be easy.

So, Anthony was right; making a good first impression was indeed very important.

But he couldn't get a perfect score.

If his score was too high, the professor might think he was some fanatical admirer and drag him up to perform ridiculous skits in every class from then on. That would be a nightmare.

Once they had finished memorizing, the students discreetly lit their notes on fire to avoid professors discovering their collective cheating.

When they arrived at the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, the Slytherin students were already inside. Just as the Ravenclaws had settled down, Lockhart entered, beaming, with a stack of papers in his arms.

"Excellent, children, it seems you're all eager for class to begin. And since you've all bought my complete works, I'm sure you've read about my various glorious accomplishments."

Lockhart declared in a loud, cheerful voice,

"Perhaps some students are wondering—"

He mimicked a high-pitched girl's voice, saying, "Oh, when can I be as amazing as the great Professor Lockhart — Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Anti-Dark Magic League, five-time winner of Wizarding Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award—"

He flashed a so-called "most charming smile" and continued, "—like him?"

"Don't worry, children. All I can say is, don't rush." Lockhart encouraged, "As long as you study as hard as I do, you too can become great Wizards one day."

"Hmm… now, let's see how well you've all learned…"

He handed out the papers.

Wade glanced at them.

They were exactly as Anthony had described; Lockhart hadn't even bothered to change a single question.

The Ravenclaws exchanged knowing glances, then began to write furiously.

The Slytherins, however, showed a much wider range of reactions.

Some were disdainful, some frowned, some were admiring, and a few seemed to have gotten the answers beforehand, just like the Ravenclaws, and started writing without a second thought.

Quills scratched across parchment, making a "shhh-shhh-shhh" sound.

Today, Lockhart was destined to receive a result that would greatly surprise him.

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